An attempt at reestablishing mountain gorilla monitoring in Virunga NP

Posted on May 25th 2012

Yesterday, May 24, Virunga National Park sent a team of rangers back to Bukima in an attempt to reestablish the monitoring of habituated mountain gorillas that range in that area. The hope was to locate the gorillas after several weeks without contact. That last few weeks have been volatile, with rebel movements within the National Park and intense fighting raging between rebel militias and the Congolese army on the park’s edge in Bikenge and Jomba. (IGCP stock photo from Bukima)

And all of us here are hoping the fighting stops soon and the park can once again be a haven for the critically endangered mountain gorillas and not a haven for militias.

Map of the southern sector of Virunga National Park, includin Mikeno Sector in green, which is habitat for the critically endangered mountain gorillas. Map by Virunga National Park and as posted on http://gorilla.cd.